Desco from Schulthess
The Desco von Schulthess Holding AG (acronym of De S chulthess & Co. ), Based in Zurich , was founded in 1889 as an international silk trading company with a focus on Asia.
history
Eduard Sulzer-Frizzoni (1862–1922) founded a trading company in Zurich in 1889 for the import of Asian raw silk. In quick succession branches were opened in the silk trading centers of Lyon , Shanghai (from 1897, headed by Charles Rudolph , silk inspector), Yokohama (from 1901 with 12 employees), New York City , and later also in London , Milan , Hong Kong and Tokyo . His brother Robert Sulzer ran the Yokohama branch until 1919.
In 1896 Eduard Rudolph-Schwarzenbach became a partner. The company was renamed Sulzer, Rudolph & Co. and in 1928 Charles Rudolph & Co. Desco had business relationships with the Tomioka silk spinning mill .
During the Great Depression , Fritz von Schulthess-Page became a partner in the company and in 1943 sole proprietor under the name de Schulthess & Co. , from which the company name Desco was derived in 1950. Under the name Desco von Schulthess & Co., he diversified from the silk trade into other areas and expanded the trading business in terms of goods and geography.
After the Second World War , further business areas were opened with exports of watches to Asia, trading in animal hair and bristles and agencies in the Congo.
In addition to trading in raw materials and services in the field of luxury brand marketing, the Desco Group represented various well-known brands in the luxury watch and jewelry sector in all important regions of the world. Since 1946, Desco has represented renowned Swiss watch companies as a dealer, especially in Far Eastern countries. In 1961 Desco expanded this field of activity with a watch factory in Saignelégier that mainly produced private label timepieces. The watch brand Maurice Lacroix was founded by the President and Delegate of the Board of Directors, Peter Brunner in Saignelégier in Jura in 1975 . The basis was a previously purchased assemblage company for the manufacture of private label watches. The Desco Luxury Holding AG was the umbrella company of the watch business of Maurice Lacroix Holding AG and the Desco Asia Pacific Holding AG .
In 1989, the family company Desco traded in practically all natural textile raw materials worldwide, primarily silk and with the exception of cotton. Desco had a wide network of purchasing and sales branches with 26 companies in 15 countries (most important trading centers). The geographical focus was on the Far East and Europe, supplemented with branches in America, Africa and Australia. 500 people were employed worldwide, 350 of them in the trading business. In 1988 the group achieved sales of 450 million Swiss francs.
Desco covered 25 percent of Europe's silk needs. In the capital goods business, leading manufacturers were represented in selected markets in Central Africa and China. Desco took on the bridging function between producer and customer as a specialized buyer or seller. The transit function (pure mediation of the flow of goods) or the world trade function (larger warehousing in different places) made it possible to bridge the time differences between production and sales in order to ensure rapid sales for producers and regular supplies for consumers.
In 2008 all trading businesses (Desco Rohstoffe Holding and Desco Asia Pacific Holding) were sold to DKSH . In 2011 DKSH took over the majority stake in the watch company Maurice Lacroix with a production facility in the canton of Jura .
The company archive is located in the Zurich Central Library and covers 28 linear meters.
literature
- Albert Jost: Charles Rudolph and Co. 50 years of raw silk import. Zurich 1939.
- Desco Group: 100 years of Desco von Schulthess AG, Zurich . Mittex: the trade journal for textile yarn and fabric production in German-speaking Europe Volume 96, 1989 Issue 10.
- Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Silk Memory: Desco
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Embassy of Japan, July 2014: Tomioka silk spinning mill named a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- ^ Desco Group: 100 years of Desco von Schulthess AG, Zurich . Mittex: the trade journal for textile yarn and fabric production in German-speaking Europe, Volume 96, 1989 Issue 10.
- ^ William George Shuster of January 21, 2008: DKSH Acquires Desco Asia Operations
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger of July 4, 2011: DKSH takes over majority of watch manufacturer Maurice Lacroix. The Zurich trading and service giant DKSH is expanding in the luxury goods business
- ↑ Züricherische silk industry company ZSIG: Desco
Coordinates: 47 ° 22 '12.6 " N , 8 ° 32' 1" E ; CH1903: 682 703 / 247170